ARCHITECTURE: Two films about the Y-block have, under the cover of the ongoing demolition, become both documentation of ideological fluctuations and mourning hymns over a lost time.
Y-BLOCK: "The seminar must end", said Nicolai Astrup (H) in the Storting today, referring to the fact that the Y-block must now be fully discussed. MODERN TIMES follows the fate of the Y-block.
ARCHITECTURE: The state ministry building, the Y-block, has a reputation for being the ugliest building in Oslo. It has been hated for its brutalist aesthetics. But how much do we, or the state itself, really know about the construction and thinking behind the Y-block?
Y-BLOCK: Five protesters were taken away yesterday, among them Ellen de Vibe, former director of Oslo's planning and building department. At the same time, the Y interior ended up in containers.
Y-BLOCK: The perspective on the symbolic value of the Y-block has changed in the time since the demolition decision, without it having dawned on key politicians.